Maverick Growth Solutions

Today, I had just sat down to a delicious and highly nutritious meal from the Golden Arches (O.K. so it was neither delicious nor nutritious, but I was hungry and in a hurry). I had gotten delayed by a morning meeting that ran long, and decided that I really needed to eat something or I would not survive the afternoon intact. Just as I took the first bite of my burger, my cell phone buzzed with an incoming text. I put down my burger, flipped open my cell phone and what did my eyes behold. Why, a text coupon from Arby’s for a free 22oz Beverage with any purchase.

But, wait, it’s 1:17 PM – far past lunch time for most people in the Eastern time zone. I just happened to be eating that late because I got delayed. Sure, the text coupon is good through the 11th of November, but do they have any idea how many text messages I will receive between now and the next time I decide to eat out – even if that is tomorrow at lunch? I’ll probably entertain at least 100 text messages before I eat out again – maybe even more.

However, if I had received the text coupon at 11:30 AM, I might have actually gone to Arby’s instead of where I was seated now. My stomach would have thanked me and my wallet would have, too. But, because the timing was off, Arby’s lost the opportunity to capture my business today and possibly may not capture it for the remainder of the time that the coupon is good.

Text Marketing is a very powerful method of reaching your customers. Why?

Because a text coupon finds your customer – your customer doesn’t have to find the coupon. How many times have you looked feverishly for a coupon never to find it. Then, a few days later, you find it, but it expired the day you were looking for it originally. A text coupon can reach your customer where ever they are.

Because a text coupon can find your customer when they are in the buying (or decision making) mode. Sure, Facebook Deals is a powerful marketing method – but the customer is more than likely already at your establishment, so why do they need a coupon to entice them to buy when they just “checked in”.

Because a text coupon can reach ANY potential customer with a cell phone that can receive a text message (and over 90% of phones can receive a text message unless the user has blocked them). While Facebook Deals, Foursquare, Mobile Coupons, and such are really sharp looking and can reach your audience with some really cool deals, they only reach those people with “smart phones”. Facebook deals can only reach people with iPhones and Android phones at this point. What about the other 80% of your potential customer base that has a standard cell phone? A text coupon can reach them with enticing deals that bring them in the door.

However, Text Marketing has some drawbacks. What are they?

Trackability - you must make provisions in your POS system to track redemptions since there is no paper coupon for the consumer to bring in. If your register system allows it, you can simply program a button or code on your register to track it. If this is not an option, simply use a business card size paper with something denoting “Text Coupon” on it and staple it to the register tape, put it in the drawer or where ever, and then you can track sales from it. Regardless, be sure to get your team’s buy-in on tracking it. Don’t let them take the easy way out and just “comp” out the item – that doesn’t help you or them in the long run.

Abuse – I hear this quite often. “Well, what if they come in several times and use the coupon?” If the text coupon is tied to a sale, then have you really lost anything. If the customer would have come in once without the coupon, but now comes in two or three times with the same coupon, you’ve made three sales from sending one text coupon. You’ve actually increased your ROI on that campaign because you only paid for ONE text coupon to be sent while getting three redemptions. Plus, you’ve had three opportunities to impress the customer to the point that they return with either friends or that they return without a coupon the next time.

Sharing – “What if they share the coupon with their friends?” First, would you loan your cell phone to a friend while they go to lunch? I probably would not. But, I would probably forward the text coupon on to them if we were going together. Regardless, even if one person has the text coupon on their phone and a group of six is sharing the text coupon, if it’s tied to a sale, have you really lost anything? Just as with the “abuse” answer, you are actually picking up sales and opportunities to impress customers with your product and service.

So realistically, text marketing really doesn’t have any drawbacks if you make a concerted effort to track the results. Get your team on board with it and maybe even promote it within your team offering a small prize for the team that gets the most signups over a period of time.

At Maverick Growth Solutions, we can help you design a text marketing strategy that fits your business needs. If you’d like to become a part of a larger text marketing strategy than just your business customer list, then check into our TxtDealz system. This is effectively a marketing co-op of local businesses but is run by Maverick Growth Solutions – a company that is only marketing. We don’t sell lawn services, dry cleaning, meals, or anything else. We serve the local businesses and consumers here in Clarke, Oconee, and the surrounding counties. Call us today at 706-363-0202 to see how one of our text marketing strategies could help you market your busienss to local consumers looking to do business with you.